Electro-magneto-optical effects in the presence of a strong electric field applied to excited potassium vapor

V. M. Arutyunyan, N. N. Badalyan, V. A. Iradyan +1 more

Dmitry Budker, Derek F. Jackson Kimball, Simon Rochester +1 more

Optical pumping of an atomic sample with narrow-band light can create sub-Doppler features, known as Bennett structures, in the velocity distribution of state populations. In the presence of static magnetic or electric fields, the corresponding sub-Doppler features in the index of refraction can cause nonlinear optical rotation and induced ellipticity of resonant light propagating through the atomic medium. Physical mechanisms causing Bennett-structure-related nonlinear electro- and magneto-optical effects are discussed in detail for transitions involving states with low angular momenta. Measurements of Bennett-structure-related nonlinear magneto-optical rotation and electric-field-induced ellipticity for the Rb $D2$ line are performed and compared to density-matrix calculations. The latter effect can be used for measuring electric fields applied to atoms.

Charles W. Clark, K. T. Lu, Anthony F. Starace

S. Gateva, S. Tsvetkov, G. Todorov +4 more

Abstract In this communication, we present experimental results on the preparation of magneto-optical resonances in potassium. The magneto-optical resonances are registered in Hanle configuration, i.e. monitoring the atomic fluorescence vs the applied magnetic field scanned around zero value. The excitation of the second resonance line with a wavelength of 404.4 nm leads both to direct fluorescence at 404.4 nm and to a cascade decay with fluorescence at 770.1 nm and 764.5 nm (first resonance line transitions). This transfer is evidenced by the registration of a narrow magneto-optical resonance in the fluorescence. It should also be noted that even after multiple cascade transitions, the resonance observed on the infrared lines has a much better signal/noise ratio compared to that on the excited second resonance line. Therefore, the study of these sub-Doppler-width magneto-optical resonances in hot potassium vapor will be useful for the further development of high-resolution magneto-optical laser spectroscopy.

Alda Arias, S. Helmrich, Christoph Schweiger +3 more

state and verify the long-term stability of the laser system. Additionally, by performing spectroscopy in a magneto-optical trap we observe strong loss features corresponding to the excitation of s, p, d and higher-l states accessible due to a small electric field.

Aleksandr Khanbekyan, Irina V. Novikova, George R. Welch